Go-Ahead has ordered 66 low-floor EMUs over the past two years, up from an original order for 35. The new trains will begin operation on regional services radiating from Stuttgart in 2019. In 2015, Go-Ahead was awarded two contracts to operate Lot 1b (Rems-Fils network), on the Stuttgart - Aalen - Crailsheim and Stuttgart - Geislingen - Ulm lines, and Lot 1c (Franken-Enz network) on the Stuttgart - Aalen, Stuttgart - Karlsruhe, and Stuttgart - Heilbronn - Lauda - Würzburg lines. Each set accommodates more than 700 passengers, including up to 328 seated, and the trains are equipped with passenger information systems, Wi-Fi and air-conditioning. The interiors are barrier-free with a continuous low-floor design, while the doors have gap-bridging equipment and sliding steps. Ten Flirt EMUs are ready for commissioning, while the remaining sets will be ready by the end of the year. Stadler will maintain the fleet at its facilities at Essingen. “With the latest state-of-the-art and barrier-free trains and reliable timetables, Go-Ahead will make an important contribution to the modernisation and expansion of local passenger transport in Baden-Württemberg after the operational start in 2019,” Hermann says. ”Rail transport should become an attractive alternative to the private car.”